“Fine,” Jason grumbled and motioned for Dallas to turn the stereo down a hair.
Just before her boyfriend pulled her onto a worn couch she looked over to see two of the strangers making out; soon enough they disappeared into another room. Jason grabbed a bottle of brown liquid. He took a swig then handed it to Chloe. It looked like one of Riley’s whiskey bottles. With his eyes on her she took a drink. The fluid scorched her tongue and throat, she coughed hard, and the room erupted in laughter. She tried to play it off but couldn’t help feeling stupid.
Soon they were laughing and joking, and Chloe had forgotten where she was and what she had been so worried about. She didn’t even notice when Jason turned the stereo back up.
Riley watched through hazy eyes as four teenagers climbed down the apartment building fire escape. He found himself at the apartments trying to find the guts to talk to Kya again, but he got distracted. He missed her, and cursed the demon that tore them apart. He teetered on his feet as he felt the bottle of Jack fall to the floor. It was his last one since his other one had gone missing.
“Where do you think you’re going?” he slurred.
He followed the teenagers at a distance, and even in his intoxicated state he stalked without being noticed. His concern grew the farther they got from the safe zone, and for more than a few times he thought about going back to get the guys, but never did. As his vision slowly cleared he spied a blonde ponytail dangling in the breeze.
“Chloe…What are you up to?” he asked in the moonlight.
The silver light glowed against his pale skin. What Riley didn’t know was that he had made two dire mistakes. He went out of the compound without a weapon, and more importantly, he was so focused on following Chloe that he hadn’t noticed that he was being hunted by very hungry zombies.
Chloe wasn’t feeling very well when she hoisted herself off the squishy couch. Her stomach cartwheeled. She was sure of two things, she was drunk and she was going to puke.
“Where you going?” Jason asked, his hooded eyes raked her body. His hand came up, but she knocked it away.
“Bathroom. I’ll be back.”
Chloe had no idea where it was, but she had to find somewhere to throw up. She pushed open the first door she saw and immediately regretted it. Her cheeks rushed with heat and her brain twirled. The couple that had disappeared earlier in the night was together on a steel table. The woman lay on her back with her bare breasts shining in the dim lights. The man was wedged between her skinny hips with his ass staring at Chloe. They both turned to look.
“Oh God! I’m sorry.”
She slammed the door and only made two steps down the hall before her abdomen clenched. The contents of her stomach erupted. After two or three times retching she was ready to make her way back to the party. She planned on telling her boyfriend to take her home. They had been gone long enough. Something caught her eye at the end of the hall. It was a stack of bottled water, canned goods and boxes of noodles. The items had the same branding as the supplies they brought back from their last scout.
“Where did they get this?” She knew the answer. They had to be stealing it. “Sons of bitches,” she cursed.
She turned on her heel, all of sudden feeling less intoxicated, she marched back into the room where the others were. She glared at Jason. “Where did you get those supplies?”
“Angel,” he said with a lazy smile. “I missed you.”
“Cut the shit, Jason. You took those from the safe zone,” she crossed her arms and pinched her eyebrows.
Jason lurched off the couch, his friendly face changed to fury, “What did you just say to me?”
Suddenly there was a crash into the basement window and a body tumbled in, sending Chloe two feet in the air with fright. Maria shrieked. Dallas yelled and stumbled into the stereo. The obnoxious music cut short.
“Shut the fuck up!” the voice hissed. “Deaders will hear you.”
Chloe switched the target of her rage. “Riley, what the fuck are you doing here? You scared the shit outta me.”
“What are you doing out here,” he slurred. His unfocused eyes blinked.
“Jesus Riley, are you drunk?”
Riley burped, then rubbed his mouth. “Hey, you leave him outta this.”
Jason laughed. “I guess your babysitter is here,” he sneered, the alcohol giving him the courage to speak.
Riley looked from Chloe to the skinny brown haired kid. His tall frame lumbered for the teenager and met him square in the face. “What the fuck did you say to me boy?” The marine’s eyes flared.
Chloe jumped in just as Jason was going to say something very stupid to the marine. She pushed her hands against her boyfriend making him step back two steps. “Let it go.” Her head snapped up. “Riley, you’re embarrassing me.”
“I’ve come to take you back.”
“I can find my own way back.”
Riley wasn’t listening. He eyed Jason sharply then grabbed Chloe’s arm. “Time to go.”
She yanked her arm away, “You are not in charge of me! What are you doing here anyway? Trying to be a hero or something? Well you’re not! You ruined everything.”
Chloe pushed past Riley and went back the way she came, by the stolen supplies. She was embarrassed, she didn’t feel great, and she wanted to go home. The room was beginning to spin. She could feel Riley standing behind her. She was about ready to tell him to go fuck himself when the sound of breaking glass shattered the silence.
“What was that?” she asked Riley.
Riley’s body went rigid, his eyes focused. He didn’t seem so under the influence anymore. “Shhhh…..”
She listened, and her skin crawled with goosebumps. More glass shattered, and then she heard the call of the undead.
“Holy shit, we gotta get outta here.” Riley grabbed Chloe once more.
She gulped and nodded. She was about to say something when a zombie busted through a door across the room. Its skin was shredded by something, the yellowish rib bones glinted in the candlelight. Marie screamed, and the zombie turned for her. Dallas yelled out then disappeared out the basement window. More zombies spilled in.
“This way!” Riley shouted and yanked Chloe away.
With Dallas’ screams echoing outside the basement window, he knew they needed a different way out. They ran down a hall of darkness. The three of them heard Dallas’ cries fade in the alley. The two love birds died a second later when the zombies broke into the room.
Chloe looked back to see if her boyfriend was following. He was, but she didn’t relax. The sounds of the undead were everywhere. In the low light she could see the shadows of corpses bumping into things trying to get to them.
“There’s too many of them,” Chloe whispered.
“We’re almost outta here.”
She didn’t know if she believed him. She concentrated on the sensation of Riley and Jason’s hand. Her chest clenched with terror, and she found it difficult to maintain her heartbeat while it pounded in her throat. She suddenly felt a heavy weight pull against her left hand. Her boyfriend shrieked in pain. Chloe and Riley turned to see a zombie with its teeth dug into Jason’s shoulder. He was dragged back, his hand broke from hers. Another zombie launched itself out of the darkness and latched onto him.
“No!” she screamed, tears in her eyes.
Riley propelled her away from Jason. “Come on!”
Chloe scratched at his hand. “No Riley, please! We gotta help him!” she pleaded.
“It’s too late. We’ll all be dead if we stay.”
“GOD PLEASE! There’s gotta be something!” Another zombie tore into Jason. His shrieks filled the warehouse. Chloe cried out and pulled, but Riley’s grip was a vice. “I hate you! This is your fault! You brought them here! You’re such a screw up, no wonder Kya kicked you out!”
Riley flinched slightly, but didn’t respond. He pulled her out of the warehouse through an open window, leaving the zombies behind to feast. The two sprinted down the stre
et back to the safety of the compound.
chapter 16
The night air was warm, and the pure silver crescent moon hung in the dark purple sky. Pearly stars speckled the endless night, and Damon found himself staring at them. He had stopped looking for airplanes and satellites, they were gone. He waited for Victoria. Since Chloe was out with her boyfriend, he figured they could take advantage of some time alone with dinner on the firehouse rooftop.
“Hey you,” Victoria said from behind, as she slid her hands around his chest and kissed his ear.
“Finally.”
Victoria smiled again and joined Damon at the table. “Oh I’m sorry. Did you have somewhere pressing to be? Or maybe you have an important meeting to attend in the morning?”
“As a matter of fact, I do.” His eyes shined brightly when he smiled.
“Really?”
Damon laughed. “No, just hungry.”
“What’s on the menu tonight?”
“Mac and cheese and green beans.” He grabbed something at his side, “Oh and beer.”
It was always a guess as to what they would be eating in the safe zone. Sometimes they would have the same thing for two weeks. Rice and noodles and canned goods were popular.
Damon and Victoria talked about the last run, with the focus being on Hagerty. It wasn’t the dinner conversation, but he was anxious about what happened to Victoria during his time in the arena.
Over the next few minutes Victoria explained when they were taken to the compound she saw Hagerty’s men toss Damon in a box no bigger than an outhouse. The box was one of ten in a row that lined the hammered together structure of the compound, a mix of chain-link and wood panels. She was immediately brought to Hagerty’s dwelling, a small school wedged at the back of the compound. They passed the arena and general housing. She was brought face-to-face with Hagerty after being dragged through a series of hallways to the principal’s office of all places. The man in charge towered over the desk he sat behind. His blonde hair was butchered short like straw, and his face was staunch and scarred. In terms of looks, he wasn’t an ugly man. His square jaw, jutting chin, and dark eyes were focused on her.
“He looked at me like a predator stalking its prey,” she said, slightly shivering, prompting Damon to slide close to her. She went on with her story. Hagerty liked what he saw, and she was taken to another section of the school they had set up like some ancient Egyptian harem. There were two other women being held prisoner. They said the madman chose them too. She finished her story with the attack of the marines, then added that Hagerty never got anything from her aside from a slap across the face.
Damon gave her a kiss, thankful things were worse for him than they were for her.
“Oh I’ve been meaning to ask what happened at that helicopter crash site? You seemed pretty off after that, and I know it wasn’t the zombies.”
“Nothing, just a crash.”
“Hmmm…Riley said something about a guy.”
“Riley says a lot,” he snapped, then sucked in his breath.
Victoria drew back.
Damon knew he had over reacted. “Look, I’m sorry. The guy had a picture of his wife and son. It reminded me of my family.”
“It’s okay,” she said after hesitation, “I get it.” She laid her head against his hard shoulder.
“Do you really, though? I mean here I am living with another woman with another family, like they never existed.”
Victoria swallowed. “But you know they existed, we know they did. You aren’t replacing them, you are just moving on. They would understand, and they are in a much better place than us.”
Damon nodded after a while. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to ruin the night with this.”
“You didn’t ruin anything. I love spending time with you, even when you are miserable.”
Damon and Victoria sat atop the station staring over the safe zone. He hugged her tightly against his hot body while the stars twinkled. The warm air turned chilly while they sat under the moon. Then a scream shattered the silence.
chapter 17
Damon knocked on Dr. Dellinger’s door for the third day in a row, and got the same result. Nothing. The knob was locked, just like the days before. He didn’t need this. His shoulders felt heavy. After the night of Chloe’s party he had found it very hard to take it easy. Teenagers died, she and Riley almost died too.
“What the fuck is going on?” he muttered to himself.
He contemplated letting himself in but wanted to give the old man some privacy. The whole situation was starting to piss him off. He suddenly felt a presence behind him and turned around to see Harper and Riley standing shoulder to shoulder.
“What’s up guys?” He turned away from the door. He would give it one more day.
“Dr. Frankenstein not answering?” asked Riley, nodding his head toward the door.
Damon shrugged. “Been here the last few days, and he hasn’t answered.”
“Interesting. Think maybe we should have a look?” Harper stepped in front of Damon. He pumped his leg back and let the door have it. Before Damon could stop him, the two marines were inside and Damon was on the stoop.
“Christ’s sakes, Harper,” he cursed. “I guess he isn’t home, so let’s go.”
“How do you know he’s not home?”
“The record player isn’t playing,” Damon said in the quiet. “Plus he isn’t out here yelling at us for breaking down his door.”
“You’re right, that funky music is off,” Riley said from the living room. “Those pests seem to be gone too.”
Damon stopped in the dining room by the table and looked up at the big marine. “What are we doing here, Harper?”
Harper dropped some papers he was looking through. “The reason me and Riley came to find you was because more people are gone.”
“You’re kidding?” Damon couldn’t believe it. “Are they leaving or something? We already lost three.”
“No. Patrol says no one has come or gone since we came back, aside from the birthday incident.”
Riley flinched and remained silent.
“What the fuck?”
Harper shook his head then disappeared into another room, “I just think this guy has something to do with it.”
“Oh please Harper there has to be another explanation.”
“Why are you defending him so much? It’s like you’re obsessed.”
“I’m not obsessed with anything.”
“You’re over here all the time.”
Damon felt heat roll over his shoulders, but he didn’t want to start a fight. He nearly lost Chloe. If it weren’t for Riley she would have been dead, or worse, a walking corpse. Damon sighed, “He thinks he’s close to a cure.”
Riley strolled into the room and stood by Harper. “Of course he’s gonna say that. He needs to justify all these experiments.”
Damon threw his hands up. “I’m done Harper, seriously. Let’s go. We’ll find Dellinger and the missing people.” He pushed passed the marines and stood on the front walk waiting for them to come out. After the marines exited the home, he did his best to close the door as much as the tremendous crack would allow. Damon walked home, leaving the marines on the sidewalk. His brain pondered if the disappearances and the scientist were connected. Or was it Hagerty? People were on edge, and Damon was ready to break.
The next morning was chilly, clouds covered the sun. Everything appeared gray, even the fresh sprouting grass seemed gray.
Damon was doing his rounds. He stood at the junction where the creek and the mountain meet. The water rushed over the polished stones, and for a second he was mesmerized.
“Mr. Marshall.”
The voice made him jump. He whipped around to see Dr. Dellinger staring at him with hawk-like eyes. His skin seemed to be paler, the blue streaks of his veins were visible beneath the thin barrier. His crazy hair was the same. His faithful rat perched on his shoulder, while the ferret rode in the pocket of his white jacket.
<
br /> “Dr. Dellinger, you…startled me.”
“My apologies. I have something I would like to show you. I think you would rather enjoy it.”
Damon stumbled over his words, “Yeah…alright, but where have you been?”
“Offsite,” he muttered as he turned on the heel of his loafer and walked down the street.
Damon had forgotten about the place they’d set up outside the compound where the doctor could do whatever he wanted with the zombies.
That explains that.
Damon followed the doctor to his home thinking there wasn’t much he hadn’t seen already. They walked passed the broken door, and Damon was surprised the old man didn’t comment on the state of it. He trailed the scientist to the basement door.
“This way. You will be excited to know I have made a discovery.” He pushed the door, and it opened on squeaky hinges. “Now, keep an open mind.”
“Uh, OK.” Damon’s skin tingled.
As they stepped into the darkness, a fluorescent light flared. “Yes. Three discoveries to be exact. I have discovered the infected will only attack humans. Secondly, I have perfected two formulas that will attract and repel the infected. Lastly, they have showed great potential to being controlled. ”
“That’s amaz-What? Control them? Why the hell would we want to do that?”
“Is that what you focused on?” He shook his head. “Open mind, remember? There are many advantages to controlling the infected. I thought one would be obvious enough…an undying workforce.”
“Don’t get me wrong, it’s awesome what you did, but I figured you would be working on a cure.”
The old man turned sharply and glared at Damon with a glint of madness in his eyes. Damon had not noticed this look before and wondered for a second if it was always there. “You thought wrong I suppose.”
Damon swallowed an impulse to throttle the good doctor. “We risked our lives getting that damn vaccine for you. We lost two good men in that hospital.”
The Beginning of the End Page 17